My sister is in college and we were talking about something similar recently - I was asking her what it was like to go to college in a pandemic and how it felt to get to go to real class. she was saying that at least at her school (large public university in the NE) there’s a general feeling of being simultaneously excited to go back to regular college life but also almost a collective wound that everyone has suffered in the past year that’s not just going to go away on its own. and some people’s way of dealing with that is to resist change and use a “scientific” reason as cover/justification to themselves.

Which makes a lot of sense to me honestly. Especially as someone who would’ve completely slacked off in every way if I’d been in online classes with no accountability or social support/pressure from peers, I would be terrified to go back to learning in person because I’d gotten so lazy just as much as i was excited. Hell I’m nervous to go back to working in an office because it will expose just how lazy I’ve become...